The year 2020 wasn’t so bad — at least for the avocado. Credit the coronavirus pandemic.
Alvaro Luque, CEO of Irving-based Avocados From Mexico, a nonprofit marketing organization, projects the U.S. will import 2.3 billion pounds of avocados from Mexico in 2021, surpassing this year’s record 2.1 billion pounds.
“Americans are spending more time at home, cooking more, and a nice guacamole is something that’s always welcome in any house, and that’s been a very good point for us throughout this pandemic,” Luque said. “We know that post-Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, or Fourth of July, people will have a guac bowl with them.”
Or just about any other day, for that matter, especially in a year when it’s difficult to distinguish Friday from Sunday, or Monday from Thursday. Guac, as guacamole is often called in the U.S., has become a go-to comfort food. It has become far more than just a Super Bowl or Cinco de Mayo snack.
Avocados are easily adapted to almost any recipe, explained Pati Jinich, chef of the Emmy-nominated PBS television series “Pati’s Mexican Table,” now in its ninth season and streaming worldwide on Amazon Prime.
“I love my guacamole with leftover turkey, or pierna de cerdo (roasted pork butt), to make a torta or Mexican sandwich with a scoop of guac — hmmmm, so, so good,” said Jinich, who is also the resident chef at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C., and the author of two cookbooks.
At JOSÉ Restaurant in Dallas, chef Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman isn’t surprised by the avocado’s popularity. “How can you not be a fan? It’s perfect, so simple, so easy and a great starter for anything,” she said. “Just add serrano peppers, cilantro, lime and salt — don’t forget the salt.”
Quiñones-Pittman credits part of guac’s recent surge in popularity to COVID-19 because “we sell more split guacamole, as people don’t want to share with one another during the pandemic. There is no double dipping.”
Traditionally, avocado sales spike in the fall during football season and peak with the Super Bowl when the company shells out top dollars to feature its fan favorite snack in Super Bowl commercials. AFM will not air a Super Bowl ad this year but has instead invested more in a fall campaign, including a promotion featuring Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman and his fellow sports announcer Erin Andrews.
As restaurants closed or offered limited dining and sporting events were postponed or delayed during the pandemic, avocado marketing was forced to increase its focus on the consumer. The extra supply translated into lower prices at the grocery store.
The marketing company also developed a new packaging strategy to allow customers to grab-and-go avocados rather than having to stop to rifle through a pile of produce during the pandemic. Luque said the company also started an education campaign to teach consumers about how best to preserve avocados, thus limiting trips to the grocery store.
The avocado growth is consistent with consumption over the past two decades, which has skyrocketed from 1.5 pounds per person in 1998 to 7.5 pounds in 2017. Today, Mexican growers in the central state of Michoacan supply more than 70% of all avocados consumed in the U.S. because of year-round production.
Overall, Americans, in general, comprised about 60 percent of all avocado consumers, with 40 percent consumed by Hispanics.
“If you ask Americans today, they will probably tell you that guac is more American than Mexican,” Luque said. “It’s one of those things that crossed over completely. So it’s a great combination to have that culture on one side and the coolness of the fruit on the other side. It’s a good problem to have.”
Some Mexicans depend on avocado sales. Avocado is a key crop in the troubled state of Michoacan, where over the years, lack of economic opportunity and brazen violence of organized crime has forced tens of thousands of people to migrate to the U.S. Now, the avocado crop directly provides about 78,000 jobs and another 310,000 jobs indirectly.
Jinich said she initially had a problem with the word “guac,” but that the nickname has become endearing and underscores how the Mexican-grown fruit is fully embraced by its northern neighbors.
“It kind of makes me happy that our food gets a ‘guac’ because it’s their nickname that kind of baptizes them into the American culinary lingo and, as you know, Mexicans — we love nicknames and the moment we give something that nickname, it means really we love it and it’s become part of our life.”
Besides, Jinich adds, the fact is that “avocados are inherently Mexican. Guacamole has a Mexican soul.”
“I always say that the food of a country is similar to the character of its people and Mexicans are adaptable,” she said. “If we have to go one way, or another, we go with the flow. Guacamole is the core soul of the Mexican. It’s rich. It’s creamy and so delicious.”
Pomegranate guacamole
INGREDIENTS
4 avocados
2 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoon white onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon jalapeño, finely chopped, seedless
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
FOR GARNISH
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
8 (3-inch) fresh rosemary sprigs
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Cut avocado in half from top to bottom. Twist one half of the avocado to pull two halves apart. Remove the pit from avocado.
2. Scoop out the pulp from the avocado halves and place into a large bowl.
3. In a large bowl, gently mash the avocados with lime juice and salt.
4. Gently fold in onions, jalapeño, pomegranate seeds, goat cheese and cilantro. Transfer guacamole to a clean serving dish.
5. Arrange guacamole into shape of a wreath and garnish with pomegranate seeds, goat cheese and fresh rosemary sprigs.
6. Enjoy!
Source: Avocados From Mexico
